Democratic U.S. Rep. Edward Markey of Malden announced on Tuesday that he is planning on supporting legislation to repeal federal taxpayer subsidies for the oil industry.
The issue of federal subsidies for the oil industry was a major point of contention between the candidates in the 2012 race to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate. And as the famous New York Yankee Yogi Berra once said, "it's deja vu all over again" as the Bay State moves toward electing someone to replace Secretary of State John Kerry in the U.S. Senate.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Edward Markey of Malden announced on Tuesday that he is planning on supporting legislation to repeal federal taxpayer subsidies for the oil industry. In a press release citing BP's 2012 profits of almost $12 billion, Markey, one of the Democratic U.S. Senate candidates, mentioned reports that the cost-per-gallon of gas in Massachusetts has risen about 14 cents in the past week.
"Even as people in Massachusetts and around the nation are facing rising prices at the pump, they are also forced to continue paying big oil through subsidies in the tax code and free drilling on our public lands," Markey said. "I will soon be introducing legislation that will end big oil's subsidies. As Congress works to address the numerous fiscal challenges facing our nation, it is time for Republicans in Congress to join me to end big oil's subsidies, which is a common sense deficit reduction measure available right now."
Markey's Democratic competition in the Senate race, Congressman Stephen Lynch of South Boston, has previously supported such legislation and in 2011, he co-sponsored a bill that would have ended oil subsidies.
"While we cannot comment on legislation that hasn't been filed, Congressman Lynch has voted many times to end subsidies for the oil industry and supported incentives for development of wind and solar energy," Lynch's campaign spokesman Conor Yunits said in a statement, also pointing to four of Lynches past votes in favor of ending the subsidies.
Throughout the 2012 election season, Democrats charged that Republicans were being friendly to the oil industry for maintaining the oil subsidies, and conversely, the counter charge was that Democrats are wasting money on alternative energy sources that do not yet offer a comprehensive energy solution.
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-South Boston; and U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Malden, will square off in a Democratic primary in the special election to replace John Kerry, who was confirmed as secretary of state by the Senate on Jan. 29, 2013.
Although there is a common perception that the oil industry gets the biggest boost from the U.S. government, a March 2012 report by the Congressional Budget Office dispelled the notion as a myth. The report concluded that while the fossil fuel energy industry received $2.4 billion in tax breaks in 2011, the combined renewable energy and energy efficiency fields received more than six-times that amount, nearly $16 billion.
Republicans have cited the solar energy firm Solyndra, which received $535 million in taxpayer loan guarantees before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and laying off all its employees in September 2011, as an example of wasteful Democratic spending in regards to energy policy.
The race to replace Kerry hasn't brought out a mainstream Republican challenger yet, although tea party candidate, Douglas Bennett, has said he intends to run. Republican-turned independent, Jack E. Robinson, also announced this week that he wants to compete.
Republican State Rep. Daniel Winslow of Norfolk said Tuesday that he will form an exploratory committee to help him mull a run.
Any candidate wishing to appear on the ballot must collect at least 10,000 certified signatures by April 3. The party primaries are scheduled for April 30, with the general election slated for June 25.